The financial woes of the Montreal Games
left many nations wary of hosting the Olympics - so much so that Los
Angeles's bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics went uncontested. But
despite the fiscal pitfalls, future host cities, including L.A., proved
that the Olympics can indeed leave a positive legacy.

President Samaranch's first Games of the
Olympiad were held in the City of Angels - Los Angeles, host of the 1932
Olympic Games, proved the catalyst for new era in the staging of the
Olympiad, the 23rd, though, like many, could not avoid certain
controversy.

After the U.S. boycotted the 1980
Summer Games, it only made sense that the Soviet Union boycott the 1984
Summer Games, right? Right. The Soviet Union and 16 Communist satellite
countries, including Cuba and East Germany, opted for a boycott in
retaliation for America's absence from Moscow four years earlier.
Subsequently, the Americans dominated and won a total of 174 medals (83
golds), with one man in particular displaying superior athletic ability,
Carl Lewis.

But more remarkable than any of
the events was the fact that the Games were financed purely from the
private sector without any government financing - an important and relevant stage in the financial
history of the movement. The organizing committee, the Los Angeles
Olympic Organization Committee (LAOOC), was headed by 47-year-old
successful businessman, Peter Ueberroth who, with the backing of several
major sponsors, assured the event ran smoothly, eventually making a
profit of $150 million dollars. The L.A. experience ushered in an era of
unprecedented corporate involvement, but nothing near the crass
commercialism that would overwhelm the Olympics when they returned to
the U.S. 12 years later.

From July 28 until August 12,
6,797 competitors from 140 countries responded to the IOC's call to
attend, despite the boycott from the Communist bloc. One of the
consolations for the United States in this respect was that Romania,
Yugoslavia and China decided to compete. With the proximity of
Hollywood, the opening and closing ceremonies were conducted like lavish
film productions. Cheering
crowds of nearly 100,000 watched as medals were awarded for 221 events,
including two new ones -- synchronized swimming (which had a beautiful
parody write-up on "Saturday Night Live") and rhythmic
gymnastics. Tennis and basketball were also on display as
"exhibition" sports but no medals were awarded.

Even if he would eventually leave
the American public gaping in awe, Carl Lewis's feats seemed somehow
incomplete in the old Coliseum athletics stadium, site of the 1932
Olympic Games. And yet, the American dubbed "King" Carl
managed to emulate Jesse Owens' feat by winning four golds in a single
Olympiad (in the same events as Jesse Owens did in Berlin 1936). The
grand total of Lewis's time on the track was 2 minutes and 26 seconds.

American sports personalities
were abundant at the Games, although a number of other countries found
themselves well-represented on the podiums. The President reintegrated
the People's Republic of China in the Olympic Movement, making the IOC
the only international organization where the People's Republic of China
and Chinese Taipei are jointly represented. In Los Angeles in 1984, the
athletes of the People's Republic of China participated in the Games
after an absence of 32 years. China
won 32 medals, including 15 golds, on its return.

EQUESTRIAN, Open
3-Day Event: Mark Todd, New Zealand
Team 3-Day Event: United States
Dressage: Reiner Klimke, West Germany
Team Dressage: West Germany
Jumping: Joe Fargis, USA
Team Jumping: United States